Case Number: BC658387 Hearing Date: January 12, 2018 Dept: NCB

4. BC658387

LEVON L.HAROTUNIAN v PROVIDENCE ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER

Motion for Admissions to be deemed admitted

Motion to Compel Responses to Special Interrogatories

This hearing concerns the Defendant’s two discovery motions to obtain orders regarding the special interrogatories and requests for admission served on the Plaintiff on August 3, 2017. The Defendant’s attorney, Rory Hernandez, states facts in the declarations accompanying the motions that demonstrate that the Plaintiff has not served any responses to the discovery.

Under CCP section 2030.290, the Court may order a party to serve responses when the party has failed to serve any responses to interrogatories. In addition, under CCP section 2030.290, when a party fails to serve timely responses, the party waives all objections to the interrogatories. Since the Plaintiff failed to serve any responses to the Defendant’s special interrogatories, the Court orders the Plaintiff to serve responses without objections within 20 days.

Further, under CCP section 2033.280, the Court may order that a party is deemed to have admitted requests for admissions when the party has failed to serve any responses. Since the Plaintiff has failed to serve any responses to the Defendant’s requests for admissions, the Court orders that the Plaintiff is deemed to have admitted the Defendant’s requests for admissions.

The Defendant requests that the Court impose monetary sanctions on the Plaintiff for the attorney’s fees and costs that were incurred in filing the motions. The Defendant requests $560 in each motion. Under CCP sections 2030.290 and 2033.280 the Court may impose a reasonable amount of monetary sanctions upon the Plaintiff for his failure to comply with discovery. Monetary sanctions should be imposed on the Plaintiff because the Defendant incurred attorney’s fees and costs as a result of the Plaintiff’s failure to serve timely responses.

The Defendant’s attorney, Rory Hernandez, states that the filing fee was $60, that his hourly fee is $325, and that he expects to spend 1 hour on the motion regarding the special interrogatories and 1.5 hours on the motion concerning the requests for admission. The amount of requested of $325 on the motion regarding the special interrogatories and $560 on the motion concerning the requests for admission are reasonable amounts of monetary sanctions to impose on the Plaintiff. The Court orders sanctions against the Plaintiff of $885 payable within 30 days.